約伯記 4
1 特曼人厄里法次開始說：
Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
2 人若和你講話，你能忍受嗎﹖但誰又能忍住不說﹖
If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?
3 看，你曾勸戒過許多人，堅固過軟弱無能的人；
Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;
4 你的話扶起了跌倒的人，堅固了膝弱無力的人；
Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.
5 但是現今災禍一臨於你，你就萎靡不振；一接觸你，你就沮喪失意。
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!
6 你敬畏天主之情，豈不是你的依靠﹖你完善的行為，豈不是你的希望﹖
Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?
7 請想：那有無辜者喪亡﹖那有正直者消逝﹖
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?
8 照我所見：那播種邪惡的，必收邪惡；散佈毒害的，必收毒害。
According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.
9 天主一噓氣，他們即滅亡；一發怒氣，他們即消失。
By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.
10 獅吼豹嗥完全止息，幼獅的牙齒也被打碎；
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 壯獅因缺獵物而滅絕，牝獅幼子各自東西離散。
The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
12 我竊聽到一句話，我耳聽見細語聲。
A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.
13 當人沉睡時，夜夢多幻象；
Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,
14 我恐怖戰慄，全身骨頭發抖。
A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.
15 寒風掠過我面，使我毛髮悚然。
Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;
16 他停立不動，但我不能辨其形狀；我面前出現形影，我聽見細微的聲音：
It stood still, but its form I could not discern; An image was before mine eyes; There was silence, and I heard a voice:
17 人豈能在天主前自以為義﹖在造他者前，自以為潔﹖
“Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?
18 看，他的僕役，他還不信；他的使者，他還歸罪，
Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.
19 何況那以泥屋為居所，以塵土為基礎的人! 他們為人踐踏，有如蠹蟲；
What then are they who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who crumble to pieces, as if moth-eaten!
20 晨昏間即化為齏粉，永遠消亡而無人一顧。
Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.
21 幕索如已自斷，他們豈不是因缺少智慧而死亡﹖
The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”
